Hero of the Dawn, Healer of Worlds
by theClosetPoet7
Summary: Aerith knew that Tifa was just as in love with Cloud as she was. Maybe even more so. Yet, that didn't stop her from claiming him as her own anyway. All is fair in love and war after all. [Alternate Ending to the Original Game]


**Disclaimer: **I do not own FF7

**Warning:**

This is written in Aerith's point of view. Lots of Clerith in this. If you can't handle Clerith scenes, especially sex scenes, then maybe this might make you uncomfortable.

However, Cloti and Zerith is endgame here, so if you also know that you aren't going to be happy with that, then at least I gave my lovely Clerith friends a heads up. There is no cheating in this story. And because I know that the LTD is going to be a controversial issue, I would like to say, please no bashing or anything like it. Let us all respect each others' ships. Love and Peace as always!

**Notes:** A walk through of Aerith's thoughts during and after the game had she lived. Beautiful Cetra, you are loved.

* * *

**Hero of the Dawn, Healer of Worlds**

by theClosetPoet7

Summary: Aerith knew that Tifa was just as in love with Cloud as she was. Maybe even more so. Yet, that didn't stop her from claiming him as her own anyway. All is fair in love and war after all. [Alternate Ending to the Original Game]

* * *

_"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end,_

_The Goddess descends from the sky,_

_Wings of light and dark spread afar,_

_She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."_

_\- Genesis Rhapsodos, Loveless_

_._

She could feel his presence just beyond the door. He's hesitating and she can tell. Aerith tries to drown out the guilt she is beginning to feel because she honestly wishes that he'd come in already.

Her best friend is two rooms down from the one she rented for the night. Usually, they would share the same quarters, but, since this establishment was cheaper and they all felt the need to be left alone for a while after the final battle, the team had decided to splurge a bit.

Now, she's wearing a nightgown she hasn't worn before. It was one she purchased way back when they were at Costa del Sol. The outfit was plain white and see-through and she had bought it with the intent to seduce a certain blond SOLDIER. She never got the chance to use it then, because they had a world to save. Now that it was all over, though, she couldn't stop herself from suggestively sliding the spare key to her room into fumbling leather gloves after she stole a kiss from him below the deck of the massive airship they were on.

His eyes glowed a peculiar color upon her forwardness, yet, he had nodded when she cheekily whispered, _"See you tonight._"

She throws the sheet off her petite physique and crawls to the end of the bed while quickly adjusting her wavy hair over her shoulders and crossing her legs as she waited for Cloud to finally use the key she gave him, to give in to this sexual tension they've had since the moment he fell through the roof of her church.

He's taking longer than she thought he would, and she almost lets out a frustrated huff when she tells herself that perhaps he won't be making love to her tonight. However, just as she's about to lie down again, the sound of a metallic click catches her attention.

Her green irises light up when the door opens and she sees him standing there with determination in his eyes.

Aerith daintily gets up and makes her way towards Cloud as he shuts the door to give them privacy, eager lips meeting his as soon as she has him in her arms.

.

.

.

_'I'm sorry, Tifa.'_

* * *

_She watches as Tifa climbs down the Northern Crater to wait for Cloud's return._

_He had sensed Sephiroth still beneath the Planet's Core._

_Aerith had called forth the strength to keep focusing her Ancient powers in protecting him as he descended into the Lifestream once again._

_If she was being honest, she wishes that she was as physically strong as Tifa Lockhart was._

_Then, maybe she'll be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cloud in the battlefield._

_All she can offer is her full support, casting magic spells, and healing the team as Cloud and Tifa rush head first into the fight._

_Their combo techniques looked as destructive as her summons._

_And even though she knows that her role is of vital importance, not only to her friends but the world as well._

_She still feels an immense amount of regret when Tifa falls only to be caught in Cloud's arms, the two members hanging loosely._

_Their lips moving, forming words she can't hear._

_Except that she knows that there's no room for her in that intimate exchange._

_._

His lips trail a path down her neck. Aerith threads her fingers through his blond locks while his hands pull her by the waist. She could feel something hard through his pants and doesn't hesitate in wrapping a leg around him to feel it against her.

"Fuck, Aerith."

He's grinding his hips to hers and biting hard on her skin. The brunette starts to feel the heat pool in her belly and steps away to shyly back into the bed. Cloud follows her with such ferocity that it gives her a tiny peek of how mind-blowing it would be once she has him inside her. Her lithe form slides down his body and settles her bottom on yellow sheets while he takes off his sleeveless shirt. He groans out when she touches the hard ridges of his stomach and curses again when she leans in to lick him just above his V-line.

Her healing hands snap the button of his pants and slides the zipper down. She nearly gasps at the bulge that appears before her and subtly licks her lips at the thought of tasting _that_ in her mouth.

"Do you want to do this, Cloud?"

Puzzlement flashes through his Mako-green eyes.

A smirk follows after.

"Why else would I be here?"

She swallows her reply, lust overcoming everything else.

_'To see for yourself if you truly have feelings for __me__. If you truly want __me__. And not...her.'_

The desire to be with him has always been there since the beginning. And she lets him see it when she eagerly yanks his boxers to below his groin, revealing his cock to her, and sucks him off like she's been wanting to.

Perhaps they are moving too fast, but when he threads his fingers through her light brown hair, it feels like heaven coming down.

* * *

_Aerith combs through Nanaki's red mane while he slumbers peacefully beside her._

_Cloud has disappeared inside Tifa's tent again._

_She sharpens her senses to listen keenly on the conversation they were having._

_If only she was in SOLDIER, then she wouldn't be having a hard time catching their words._

_She chuckles lightly at the childlike notion and jumps when the sentient beast adjusts his position and rolls onto his back, belly sticking out. She scratches his chest._

_Aerith directs her attention to the two again. They weren't doing anything scandalous per se._

_However, ever since she saved them from the Lifestream, Cloud and Tifa have been acting weird._

_They probably don't think it was obvious, but she sees their eyes trail after the other all the time._

_Always in a state of right foot in and then out when it comes to their relationship._

_Honestly, if she didn't have feelings for Cloud then she would be making it her life's mission to have those two get together._

_But, she loves Cloud._

_Loves him especially after finally meeting the __real_ _him._

_So, she doesn't really want to care about what he and Tifa are talking about._

_Besides, when he exits the tent, he smiles gently at her and comes straight to __her_ _side._

_._

_._

_._

_Aerith tells herself that maybe he is hers._

_._

Her fingers bunch harshly against the satin sheets, flushed body bowing towards the moon when Cloud's tongue buries itself deeper into her core. Her mouth still tasted of the sour flavor of his essence after he came just seconds in when she wrapped her lips around him. His chest was still heaving when he pushed her onto her back and guided her to the center of the bed, boots thudding lightly on the carpeted floor as he placed a knee to the edge and pounced on her to spread her wide, no hesitation there when he pulled her panties down and bends her legs.

She expected boyhood timidity but is pleasantly surprised with his virile boldness. His hands are rough against her white thighs, his strength holding her down, refusing to stop in his self-imposed mission to cater to her needs, and Aerith cums, she cums hard, his name panted out in a gasp of utter want when he has her quivering with intense heat at the first orgasm she's ever experienced.

The mage puts an arm over her face as she recovers from her high, she hears him take something out of his pocket and nearly loses her breath when she watches as he takes his remaining clothes off. He towers over her with his desire shining evidently in his eyes, an expression of wildness in ocean blue as he rolls the condom over his aching cock and positions himself above her.

She grabs hold of him and guides her into her moist sheath.

* * *

_Her instincts tell her to go to Mideel._

_She tells Cid to head north, a sense of urgency in her person because she has a feeling that __he's_ _there._

_The moment the ship lands, Aerith doesn't waste any time in making her way to a small clinic in the village's center._

_Tifa follows closely._

_She finds Cloud seated on an old wheelchair, slowly nodding away._

_Aerith touches his cheek, tilts his face up to look into his eyes, and stops the sob from coming out of her lips when she sees nothing there._

_In the end, she stays behind with Tifa._

_The girl remains a ball of strength that keeps Aerith anchored to the ground as they talk to the doctor about Cloud's progress._

_"Only time will tell..."_

_They take shifts in watching over the man they love._

_After one week of the same routine, Aerith notices the dark circles under Tifa's eyes and wonders if she should feel bad about sleeping in during her scheduled time to watch him._

_Tifa shrugs it off with a grin and tells her not to be so concerned about her lack of sleep because she's used to it due to her experience as a bartender._

_She's only seen her friend crying once. The flower girl slipped out of her cot to find Tifa with her face on Cloud's lap. Hiding her sniffles while whispering,_

"_Cloud...Cloud…Please tell me…What should I do?"_

_She hates that she isn't able to heal him this time, hates that all she can do is take care of his daily needs._

_Hates herself even more when while bending down to pick up a crying child,_

_She was too slow in summoning Bahamut and couldn't stop Cloud and Tifa from falling into the Lifestream._

_._

His sweat glides down the side of his face and lands on her cheek. Cloud calms his breathing as he supports his hard body above her pliant form and waits for the pain to ease. He feels amazing, with his girth stretching the walls of her ex-virgin warmth. Aerith cups his cheek in her hand and directs his attention to her emerald eyes.

"I'm okay."

He has always been more careful when it comes to her, as if she's a delicate flower that shouldn't be tainted even though she was the one who had taken things to the next level with them.

"Are you sure?"

Her handsome bodyguard has concern on his face. Even so, it is evident that he is all but holding himself back from pounding into her, to move to his instincts while she has him pulsing within her.

"Of course, silly."

Aerith leans up to kiss him.

"You can fuck me."

The astonishment in his eyes is one she will tuck away in her box of precious memories, for Cloud Strife is far too cute for his own good. How is a swordsman like him so taken aback by a cuss that he almost loses his balance? Still though, her crassness has encouraged his desires and Aerith holds on as he moves his hips in a back and forth motion that stirs the butterflies in her heart and makes them lodge in her throat, halting the moan from coming out of her pretty mouth when her lover rams into her and shows her what it's like to dive into a world that is theirs. And theirs alone.

A world full of pleasurable sensations that only _he_ can invoke in her.

When he unravels inside once more and she catches her bearing by clutching him closer, not letting him pull out just yet, Aerith confesses her feelings to him and is rewarded by that soft look in his glowing orbs that tell her that he actually cares for her.

Maybe even loves her too.

* * *

_Cloud clutches his head in his hands._

_Hojo tells him that he's not a real person._

_Cloud can't hear Tifa, her voice being blocked by a formidable force._

_Aerith feels helpless because she can't stop it._

_Can't stop Cloud's mind from shattering._

_._

_._

_._

_Then, her hero falls._

_._

_._

_._

_She wakes up in Shinra's jail cell again._

_Tifa lies unconscious, strapped to a chair in a room she can't enter._

_Aerith presses her hands to the glass as Scarlet tells her that her comrade is about to be executed as a terrorist._

_When the evil lady becomes too engrossed in her villainous monologue, she rams her staff against the other woman's stomach, and twirls it to attack the other guards._

_They had assumed that she wouldn't fight physically like she is now._

_Underestimating her._

_She was Aerith Gainsborough, the Last Cetra, member of AVALANCHE and she was going to save her friend._

_._

Waking up to find his arms wrapped around her is something she wants to do for the rest of her life. When the sun's rays shine on her freckles and flutters her eyelashes to take her out of her dreamless sleep, Aerith wakes up to find Cloud's hand on one of her breasts and his lips pressed to the space between her nape and shoulders.

And oh, a little something is up as well.

She cranes her neck to see if he has noticed it, but his light puffs tell her that he is still dead to the world, grinding unknowingly against her ass. The head of his cock nestled between her thighs, already reminding her of the pleasure it can give her.

The twenty-two year old slowly pushes him on his back, and greets him with the best "good morning" he has ever received.

They make love for the rest of the day, ordering in room service while hiding their quiet chuckles when anyone from the team knocks on her door and asks if Aerith knows where Cloud is.

* * *

_The wind blowing through her face brought sparks of excitement into her person._

_It is her first time being so close to the sky._

_She once told someone important that the endless cerulean scared her._

_Now, she sees that there was nothing to be afraid of._

_Cloud stands to her right, his skin blanched as he leans over the railing while trying to catch his breath._

_Turns out, he has sea sickness. Aerith finds it cute and teasingly pats his head while Tifa gives him a cup of warm water._

_"I feel bad that you aren't enjoying this as much as I am, Cloud!"_

_His lips tilt up to one side only to grimace when he quickly excuses himself to empty the contents of his stomach in the bathroom._

_Later on, she sees him rest his head on Tifa's lap, fast asleep._

_"Cloud can be a downer sometimes, huh?" she wonders out loud, as she settles next to the brawler and directs her attention at the metal paneling above._

_Tifa giggles beside her while brushing a strand of hair off the man's handsome face._

_"Cloud is Cloud."_

_Aerith casts a healing spell on him when he wakes up to keep off the nausea._

_She doesn't miss the way Tifa's eyes have that distant look in them once she has Cloud stand next to her again, her arms around his bicep, and his attention directed at her._

_When he smiles, it's like the rain dries out._

_And she decides that with them, she has no room for doubt._

_No room at all._

_._

For some reason, he doesn't want to tell the others about _them_ just yet.

And for some reason, he avoids talking to Tifa the whole way back to the outskirts of Midgar until it is time to officially disband the party. Of course, Cloud would want to make sure to be included in Tifa's immediate plans, refusing to let her go off alone. They're always stuck to each other in one way or another, an emotional distance there, one they are slow to close. But for whatever cause, it is Tifa who probably understands him the most.

She notices the air of regret hanging around his person when he's in the same room as the other woman, wonders if it's because he feels like he's done something wrong by sleeping with her. Or maybe she was just overthinking things. She never did ask what had happened between them in the Lifestream.

Aerith finds them huddled together at a nearby pub. They had been missing for about three hours when both fighters volunteered to find a place to stay for the night. Aerith had stayed behind to heal the injured children squatting on the streets. She should be mad that they're slacking off while she just came from overworking herself. They didn't even notice her arrive.

Still though, it was rare for them to be having some downtime.

Their conversations, from what little she could hear, were always serious and needed an in depth exploration of their innermost thoughts. She wasn't one for talking about her past tragedies or the pressure she felt upon being trusted with the fate of the world in her hands.

Always praying.

Always asking for the Planet's blessing.

Cloud hasn't touched her since that night and because she's understanding and because she has accepted that he isn't really the type to initiate things, the brunette puts her cheerful facade on and joins them.

Tifa smiles kindly at her, but it is obvious to Aerith that she had just interrupted an important talk between childhood friends. And the ex-barmaid was definitely in a not-so optimistic mood. Cloud offers the seat next to him and blushes when Aerith plants a soft kiss on his cheek as a thank you. It seemed like Tifa didn't notice the display of affection.

"Why are you two looking so solemn?"

Cloud's face softens at her enthusiastic approach.

"We were thinking about where to find our suspended reality."

"I don't see anything wrong with our _current_ reality." she tilts her head to the right.

"You've always been admirable in how you see the world. " There, the grin Tifa gives her lightens up her mood, though Aerith doesn't look like she's upset.

Cloud smiles at her too.

"I was thinking though." She's melancholic while finding her words.

Her friends turn to give her their attention.

"I would like to live this life with all of you."

Her eyes must have reflected her hopes for the future and the importance of them being in it, because the ambiance has immediately shifted into one that erases the dread they were in just moments ago.

* * *

_He's been keeping his distance ever since he hurt her._

_She doesn't blame him. Being an Ancient, she senses that it wasn't his fault that he gave the Black Materia away._

_Aerith sneaks away from him as Cloud rests, still too traumatized by whatever is controlling his head. _

_She's going to get to the bottom of it. She's going to save him._

_The Planet told her that the answers lie in the Forgotten Capital, and that she has a crucial role to play now, in this fight against Sephiroth._

_Tifa tries to stop her but she playfully tells the martial artist that she will return after it's all over. Besides, the Nibelheim girl has to look after her lifelong ally._

_She nearly loses her life that very day, but Cloud arrives just in time and they manage to defeat a monster released by their enemy as he retreats to recover from the attacks he sustained during their fight._

_Hope is still alive._

_She clutches Holy tighter to her chest._

_._

"Cloud and I are thinking about visiting Nibelheim."

"Oh."

Tifa must've sensed her hesitation because she swiftly follows Aerith's one-worded response with a sentence of assurance.

"Are you okay with travelling there? I was thinking that maybe you also wanted to pass by Gongaga."

The moment the word left the barmaid's lips, Aerith could feel her whole body turn numb. In all honesty, she doesn't want to think about _that_ person. Now that she has Cloud with her. She doesn't want to go back to that feeling of immense grief upon hearing that _he_ never came home.

It was _far _easier to be a little mad at him. To paint him as a playboy who left her with false hopes and gave her glimpses of a happy future with him when he never even replied to one single letter. She must have been a naive girl back then for believing him.

Yes, she wishes that she could still be mad at him, wishes that she could deny the depths of her feelings for him.

Ah, her ill-fated first love.

"I know Zack was important to you. He was important to Cloud too. And my... my last words to him were harsh. I wanted to pay my respects."

Aerith feels herself nod. It never even occurred to her how significant Zack Fair was to Cloud. He never told her about it. But, Tifa knows.

Knows his internal battle.

She goes with them to Gongaga, along with Barret and Marlene, yet refuses to look _his_ parents in the eye, focusing instead on the little four-year-old, asking with excitement to braid her hair. And because she spends the majority of their trip entertaining Marlene Wallace, Aerith doesn't think about _him_ at all.

Is this what moving on feels like?

Or is she still in denial?

* * *

_He stares disinterestedly at the flashes of light outside the gondola ride she had pulled him to._

_Although he looks like he isn't paying her any attention, Aerith knows that she has it._

_Sailing around the world with this man, at first, she had thought he was just no fun sometimes._

_He would respond to her flirtations and would reciprocate her advances, but he wasn't like a certain friend she once knew who just had that undeniable chemistry with her._

_Still, she has grown to love Cloud as he is. Shy, cocky sometimes, yet sweet and protective._

_She loves him as he is._

_Whatever version it may be._

_She's known for a while now that something isn't quite right with him, that the person before her isn't the real Cloud._

_And she wants to meet him._

_She so badly wants to._

_She tells him so._

_His confused look almost makes her decide to take her words back, to give him a sense of calm because ever since Sephiroth had first appeared, Cloud is always chasing after something she can't see._

_She can't take away the pain in his heart despite her Cetra abilities, but at least she can make him smile once in a while._

_She shakes her head when he lifts an eyebrow at her._

_Aerith laughs, mouthing the words "I love you"._

_Letting the fireworks drown out her first confession._

_._

"Are you okay?"

She bends her body to the side to watch Cloud's expression more closely. He's been having moments like this more frequently since they left Nibelheim.

While there, she had seen him staring blankly at the water tower outside Tifa's house. They were staying for only one night because they had both decided that their hometown had too many bad past experiences and living there didn't feel like home anymore. It hasn't been home for Tifa for more than five years and for Cloud, his memories were too painful to face.

"Yeah, just thinking about something."

"Care to tell me?"

She sits next to him in front of the burning fire. They had gathered some crates and turned them into chairs. In exchange for their services around the ruins of Midgar, a wandering merchant, who wanted their assistance in killing a bunch of monsters blocking his trading route, had given them three twin-sized sleeping bags as payment.

She had been sleeping next to Tifa and Marlene on the slightly uncomfortable mattress when she was awakened by the hushed whispers of Cloud and Barret as the two drank their troubles away.

"You don't have to worry about it."

"But, I want to know, Cloud. Like I said before, I want to know the _real_ you."

"You already know _me,_ though."

There's a suggestive tone there, one that teases those aches of hers because it has been a while since they were intimate. Aerith hooks her arm under his and stares at the embers falling to grey ashes on the ground, gathering her courage.

"Hey, Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"Kiss me."

.

.

.

He kisses her outside the damaged buildings around them, far from where their friends can see. And when their lecherous appetites start to become too much, Cloud takes her to that world of pleasant sensations with just his fingers.

She convinces herself that she isn't bothered by the fact that he never did answer her earlier question.

.

.

.

He's always playing her hero.

Her loyal prince.

But never lets her see him as just Cloud.

* * *

_"Why don't you read our fortunes?"_

_The newest member enthusiastically jumps._

_"Say, that's right...I haven't done it in a while, huh? I'm so excited. Right or wrong. I'm still the same 'ol me. Now, what should I predict?"_

_Aerith rests her chin on her knuckles._

_"Hmmm, let's see how compatible Cloud and I are!"_

_Cait's giant stuffed robot bounces up and down. She laughs at how cartoonish it looks._

_"This isn't good, I can't say it. Poor Tifa..."_

_Cloud stiffens beside her. Aerith takes his hand in hers and smiles sweetly up at him._

_"No! Tell me! I promise, I won't get mad!"_

_"Is that so? Then I'll tell you. Looks good. You are perfect for each other!"_

_._

She can't tell if by perfect, the mechanical cat meant as lovers for the rest of their lives. If he meant by physical compatibility though, then he was right on the money.

They _are_ perfect for each other.

She moves her hips to his animalistic fucking. Cloud takes her from behind, muffling her screams as he turns her head to plunge his tongue deep in her mouth. It feels just as exciting as their first because this time, they are back at Midgar, her home still intact despite the damage Meteor had dealt on the other sectors. Her adoptive mother was in the room next to hers. Cloud had been hesitant in having sex here, yet, she had convinced him with just the taste of her cherry lips and the seductive sway of her hourglass figure.

Aerith uses all her self control to not let out any noise. Thankfully, her bed was bolted to the cement and was strong enough that it didn't make any lewd sounds while they made love so aggressively.

Three condoms lie on the floor, all full of his creamy ejaculate, evidence of his body's prowess in matters of intense activity.

He has never taken her like this, always preferring to love her in a way befitting of a princess on her marital bed, slowly and with gentle consideration. When their libido is reawakened though, Aerith could not help but tantalize her lover by getting down on her knees and asking him to do her well and good.

Cloud's love bites paint her body after.

And the memory of his cock inside her pulses her cunt every now and then as she climbs softly down the stairs and helps with breakfast.

She moves out a few months after that.

* * *

_"I'm... we're here for you, right?"_

_He's blushing madly as he says this. His heated cheeks are highlighted by the campfire's glow as she tilts her head to his direction._

_"What?"_

_Cloud runs a hand through his hair, trying hard not to meet her eyes._

_Aerith leans her head against his shoulder, humming softly._

_Refusing to acknowledge the fact that Cloud had lifted his attention to look straight at Tifa who is seated across from them._

_Her confidence is renewed when he rests his head on top of hers and falls asleep under the desert skies of Cosmo Canyon._

_._

The news of Tifa opening up a second Seventh Heaven down in Edge makes her clap with joy. The other girl had been feeling down lately. It reminded her of the time a few weeks after Sephiroth's defeat. When they had made their way around the remains of Midgar.

Tifa, for the first time, cracked in front of all of them. It was only her, Cloud and Barret left, and they had been making the journey towards Sector 6 to get Marlene.

His hand in hers had slackened and Cloud had stepped out of her touch to put a hand over Tifa's shoulder. Aerith doesn't completely understand why she was mourning the death of her dearly departed friends now. Because, they will eventually see each other again, right? Like Bugenhagen told them.

Even so, she respectfully gives Tifa her space, and when she notices that her tears are not stopping anytime soon, Aerith closes their distance and tells Cloud with her eyes that she's got her. She wraps her arms around Tifa as the fighter cries into her shoulder, returning her hug and murmuring silent apologies for wetting her camisole while Aerith shakes her head and draws her closer.

She holds onto Tifa's hand after that, adamant to not let go while they walk through the destruction around them.

Her best friend accepted her comfort.

That night though, Cloud takes her against the thin walls of the makeshift refugee camp they stayed in, and Aerith couldn't quite shake off her heart's sorrow when Tifa looks at her with betrayal in her carmine irises the next day.

Their friendship seemed superficial for only a few hours. Then again, she had figured that she did deserve the cold treatment. The last Cetra knew that if she was in Tifa's shoes, she wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with her either.

His hand in hers under the table calms the ringing in her ears. She blinks, and the next thing Aerith knows, Tifa is smiling sincerely at them as she gives them her heartfelt congratulations when Cloud answers her question.

That they _are_ together.

.

.

.

That was a year ago.

Tifa is the Tifa she has always known, strong and optimistic, already so busy with tending to her customers once she opens the bar. Aerith sits with Cloud at first, but eventually stands up to offer her assistance by functioning as a waitress. The bar owner smiles gratefully at her and accepts her help. Surprisingly, the night passes by quickly and before she realizes it, she's back at her shared apartment with Cloud, his gentle snores lulling her to sleep while she faces him and holds his hand from under their blanket.

.

.

.

She loves her life.

* * *

_Cloud walks up to her as she's lying down. Aerith abruptly sits up from the bed._

_"I'm so tired. There's so many things I don't understand. I feel uneasy."_

_He looks at her with curiosity._

_"Cloud? What do you think of me?"_

_Of course, he takes a step back with bewilderment in his eyes._

_"I dunno. I don't understand anything." he replies_

_Aerith ignores her frustration. He wasn't good at talking about things like this. However, she is still fond of him. So, she decides on being vague as well._

_"You're right. Even I don't understand myself. I wonder what part of me is like an Ancient? "_

_She realizes that she's unintentionally sharing her personal thoughts._

_She had always ignored that aspect of her._

_Her life was anything but fun, her inheritance from her biological mother somewhat a burden because of Shinra._

_Perhaps if she was born a regular girl? Would it be any different?_

_"What is an Ancient supposed to be like? It's strange isn't it? Ah I'm going around in circles. I wonder if there's any answer to this."_

_She twirls her bangs and directs her attention to the hotel's floor._

_"Everything's so complicated."_

_Cloud doesn't say anything in return._

_._

She skims her hands over his sweaty pectorals. His right arm is around her body while the other is bent behind his blond head.

They had just had one of the best sex they've ever had, yet it felt different. She was pleasantly surprised when Cloud suddenly wanted to try a different position but was in awe because of the look on his face as she had his cock between two breasts, moving in an up and downward motion while she laps at the tip.

She had felt a bit insecure at first, because she couldn't fully cushion him for her chest was just the normal size. Her instincts tell her to cup her hands in front so she could better accommodate him, and that gets him going.

Cloud cums all over her face, his cock twitching to full attention again when she lets him watch her lick the sticky moisture left on her lips.

"Cloud, I've always wondered..."

The vibrations in his chest tells her to go on.

"When you were in the Lifestream with Tifa, did anything happen?"

He's become more masterful in masking his emotions, so Aerith can't tell how she's supposed to interpret the seconds of silence he leaves in their bedroom.

"What's going on?"

With that simple question, Aerith infers that she won't like it if he told her the truth. Even so, she wants to be privy to it anyway, wants to be privy to _everything_ about him.

"I just want to know."

That night, Cloud tells her a story. He tells her a story about a young boy, a boy who had eyes for the girl next door but was too weak to protect her when she needed him the most.

He tells her about his dreams as a teen, boyhood hopes coming out when he called out that same girl to the water tower, sealing their promise under the stars.

And Cloud tells her, tells her about Zack, about what happened when Sephiroth had gone mad, how scared he was of the thought of Tifa dying in his arms.

He tells her, with pain in his blue orbs, about the experiments a vile scientist performed on him until five years later, his best friend, _her first boyfriend,_ _Zack_, had helped him escape, sacrificed his life for a lowly infantryman.

And then, _she_ found him.

_She_ meets _him _again in the Lifestream.

And pieces him back together.

* * *

_She pushes her back off the bed and stares at the wall._

_"Cloud, are you there?"_

_"Aerith!? Are you safe?"_

_She smiles._

_"I knew that Cloud would come for me."_

_There is a pause on the opposite side of the wall._

_"Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right?"_

_Wait, is he actually reciprocating her flirtation?_

_"The deal was for one date, yes?"_

_She doesn't know why, somehow, she can feel his nod in reply._

_"Oh, I get it."_

_The feminine voice catches her off guard._

_"Excuse me."_

_Tifa was with him? She sounded jealous._

_Aerith giggles because the other girl is far too obvious with her feelings._

_Absolutely adorable._

.

She trades secrets with Tifa once in a while. Treading lightly of course, because she isn't insensitive to the woman's love for Cloud. She wants to see though, if Tifa has moved on since Cloud had announced that they were in a relationship. As it turns out, Tifa has, and is dating that Johnny guy they met back at Costa del Sol. She remembers the red-head and how completely enamored he was with Tifa Lockhart.

She wonders if Cloud loves her the same way Johnny loves Tifa.

Aerith feels a heavy weight being lifted off her shoulders when Tifa's scarlet eyes show her affection for the man. And she internally tries to ignore her inner envy when Tifa receives a bouquet of flowers from her suitor one day.

Cloud never brings her flowers. She puts her hand on her hips and tries to imply that he should once in a while.

But, he's clueless as usual.

She lets go of her girlish fantasies about him being that affectionate. Still though, when he makes her his behind closed doors, Aerith wouldn't have it any other way, because he shows her his love by peppering kisses on her body and claiming her over and over throughout the night.

* * *

_He really is too adorable._

_She tries to hide the laugh from falling off her lips._

_Seeing Cloud in a purple dress doesn't help at all though._

_It's the first time she's had so much fun._

_Going around Wall Market, even if they were doing it to save Tifa, Aerith couldn't help but think of it as their first date._

_He's shaking his head but stills when she comes out of the dressing room in her red dress,_

_She swears his eyes dilated for a second there._

_._

Aerith rests her feet over his thighs while she lays down on their leather couch. Cloud has his focus set on the new book he got. The page cover had a picture of a bike in front of it. She assumes that it may have something to do with the hunk of rusted metal he brought home a few days ago.

Her eyes skim over the page. The details the author wrote in their romance novel manages to dry her mouth as the two star-crossed lovers consummated their relationship underneath the night's sky, with billions of shining lights above them.

She can feel her desire through the dampness in her nether regions and Aerith settles the paperback over her chest to regard her boyfriend.

Her foot traces a line to the center of his slacks, emerald green orbs sparkling when he turns to look at her with flushed cheeks.

Aerith gets up to cage him with her arms as she sits herself over his lap. Cloud skims his hands on her porcelain skin, the book he was studying lay discarded, as he presses her to his hardening shaft.

He supports her ample hips while he tells her to wrap her legs around him. She giggles when he carries her to their room, tears through the buttons of her pink dress and fucks her the way she tells him to like the hero and heroine in that story.

* * *

_"Slow down... don't leave me."_

_She puts a hand over her diaphragm and tries to catch her breath._

_"I thought they wanted you in SOLDIER."_

_"Ha-ha, can we take a break for a bit?"_

_"Sure."_

_She leads him to the playground and climbs up a slide._

_"I can't believe it's still here!"_

_Cloud follows her and sits to her left._

_"What rank were you in SOLDIER?"_

_She abruptly asks. The question had been lingering on her mind for a while now._

_"Rank? First Class."_

_The implication of his reply and what it represents stirs the beatings of her heart._

_"Oh, just like he was."_

_Her mood is instantly dampened._

_._

He doesn't come home on time like he said he would. She pulls her knees to her chest and stares blankly at the red velvet cake on the table with the gift wrapped neatly beside it. She had searched for so long for that particular piece. Cloud would be elated that she bought him a new part for Fenrir.

She's worried, but can't bring herself to try to call him because she is honestly disappointed. It was their second anniversary, yet he was late. She hated it when he was late, didn't have the patience for it.

That part of her though, the part that is willing to wait for him, forces her eyes to not drift shut. He will come back to her.

Of course he will.

The door suddenly unlocks and Cloud steps in with an apologetic look in his eyes. She's prepared to lightly berate him but he presents her with a silver necklace. One that flutters her heart and makes her forget about being angry.

He worships her body on a starless night. It is a thought she fails to shake off because it gave her a sense of foreboding, especially because he's merely touching her in the way he knows how, like he's careful again, a caress filled with remorse, a thrust out of duty.

His kisses, though eager and wet, seemed distant and uncaring. Their lovemaking is methodical rather than passion-filled, so unlike the instinctive way he branded his body into hers not so long ago.

After, as she lays on her stomach with lilac sheets over her heated curves, Aerith couldn't ignore the way Cloud abruptly pushes himself off her and leans his back on the headboard, forgetting to hold her in his arms like he always does after fucking.

Her heart aches when he flips his phone open and smiles tenderly at the screen.

Cloud kisses her forehead and murmurs a quiet goodnight while he settles his feet on the floor and pulls his pants up to hang loosely around his hips. Then, he makes his way to their living room, waiting for _that _person to answer his call.

"Please be Barret, Please be Barret."

She whispers.

"Hey, you're still up."

Aerith feels her heart fracture, she recognizes that friendly tone.

"Uh, yeah. I think she likes it."

The silver strap wrapped around her neck suddenly burns into her skin.

"I was checking to see if everything's okay now."

She turns to her side and assumes a fetal position.

"Of course, I know you could've handled it on your own, Tifa. But I…"

The brunette focuses her mind on her breathing, to distract her from eavesdropping.

"Oh, okay. You're right."

For a minute there, she swears that she could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"It's not like that...right? You were in a pinch...and I…"

Their pillow feels cold against her cheek, she realizes that it's because her tears were wetting it. Aerith quickly rubs the back of her hand over her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll let her know."

She can deduce exactly why Cloud was late. Knowing her best friend, she isn't even mad at Tifa because it sounded like she was pushing for Cloud to end the call and go back to her.

Aerith shivers when his arms wrap around her from behind, pulling her against his body while he kisses her through her wavy tresses.

"Tifa says 'Happy Anniversary'."

The glee she felt an hour ago melts away, making room for that green-eyed monster inside which she has tried to ignore after all this time.

Because she can't do it any longer.

.

.

.

Deny the fact that even when she isn't facing Cloud, she can see right through him.

* * *

_"The same as who?"_

_"My first boyfriend..."_

_Her voice trails off._

_"I probably knew him. What was his name?"_

_Aerith merely shakes her head._

_"It doesn't really matter."_

_"Were you...serious?"_

_"No. I liked him for a while."_

_His ensuing silence catches her attention. Aerith wants to teasingly inquire if he's jealous._

_However,_

_Cloud's eyes are directed at something else behind her._

_"Huh... hey... back there...Tifa?!"_

_._

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Cloud."

"What?"

She lets out a frustrated breath. Seriously, he's been in a foul mood ever since Tifa waltzed in with her new man. Johnny was sweet and all, but he was nowhere near Cloud Strife's attractiveness. Yet Tifa laughed girlishly at his jokes and she blushed deeply when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Aerith had placed her hand on Cloud's knee and had cheerfully asked her friend how things were going at her bar.

She couldn't focus on the other brunette's response though, because she was too distracted by the fact that Cloud was glaring not so secretly at the man who was touching his childhood friend.

"You weren't trying to hide how much you disliked Tifa's boyfriend."

He clicks his tongue when she refers to Johnny as such.

"I don't think they're official."

It irks her a bit that he's not acknowledging the truth that Tifa is with someone else. Even now, she still saw the other woman as a threat to their relationship.

"Wouldn't you like that?"

His hand is around her waist in seconds, pulling her to him, like he always does when he's trying to reassure her.

"I don't know what you mean by that."

Cloud's soft voice always manages to calm the stirrings of her envious heart. This isn't like her. She wasn't this spiteful before. They've been dancing around the topic of his feelings for the barmaid because she just knows that he's too scared to even spare it a single thought.

She's scared as well.

He is committed to her, yet, it doesn't feel like he is. He stays though, and as long as she wants him, then he will never stray from her side.

Even so, she's had good instincts since she was a young girl.

And she just couldn't shake off the feeling that Cloud not being with Tifa feels somewhat wrong.

So, she tests her theory. Fearful, yet not so much so that she wants to prolong the agony of not knowing.

"You have feelings for Tifa, don't you?"

His breath hitches and he almost pulls away from her but shakily tightens his hold, crushing her breasts beneath his strong forearms while he buries his face in her long hair.

"I love _you_." he hisses out.

"Cloud, are you telling _me_? Or yourself?"

Another pause.

Aerith doesn't give him the time to reply, because she turns around and kisses him under the fog of her utter heartbreak.

She is going to have to let him go someday.

But, not now.

Right now, she wants him beneath her, wants him thrusting up as he shows her that he still wants to be with her.

Only her.

A tear slides down her cheek.

Cloud kisses it away when he crushes her moving body to his and makes love to her until she forgets about Tifa Lockhart's existence.

* * *

_Maybe he feels guilty about sleeping with his best friend's girl._

_Maybe he feels guilty about reconnecting with Tifa in the Lifestream only to lie on her friend's sheets._

_Maybe Aerith feels just as guilty as Cloud does._

_Or maybe...just maybe, the excitement that started when they first met has already died down._

_And now, they are left with the truth of the fact that on occasions that should count for something,_

_Aerith is too naive_

_And Cloud is too serious._

_._

Aerith once learned that sometimes, the most painful decisions are usually the best. Her self-love had once refuted it. But then, every so often, she contradicts herself when she thinks about the fact that she honestly isn't happy anymore. He's not the person she wants him to be on some days.

She realizes on a quiet morning, as she picked up the wilted flowers of her church's garden, that like the dead leaves on her hands, they will never be able to go back to their original selves. She remembers the season when they first met, with his cocky smirk and his confident antics.

The illusion dissipates and all she has left is his smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes and his empty words that don't sound genuine. Like he's assumed her tendency to keep up a facade, putting a mask on to cover the truth behind his eyes. He's trying to make it seem like he's okay when he clearly isn't.

And she isn't either.

They frustratingly continue their relationship, yet never bare their scars to each other.

She wants him to know that she understands his pain, but accepts that maybe she'll never truly be able to. Not when he disappears for some time, ignoring her calls and refusing to answer.

Tifa brings him home on a day that Aerith tells herself isn't important, his senses hindered by the alcohol in his system.

"I'm sorry, Aerith. I found him at that spot."

"What spot?"

Tifa tells her about the place where Zack died, and Aerith stops her from saying any more. She doesn't want to know about it.

As she lays beside Cloud later, she hears his quiet whimpers, calling out for that name she wishes to forget.

"_Zack...I'm sorry."_

The day after, she resumes their usual habits. They sit beside each other, their hands linked between them as they watch the news. She never mentions the fact that he had disappeared on her to mourn his best friend, choosing instead to tease him about the stubble on his chin and pushing him to the bathroom to shave it off.

And even though she's giggling at how cute the puppies featured on the fun segment are, her vision suddenly becomes blurry. She wants to push past their present and go back to simpler times when they were too busy to reminisce about their previous hurts.

Dazed and terrified, Aerith pulls her hand away to wipe her eyes, coming up with the excuse that it's just allergies when Cloud asks if she's alright.

.

.

.

The fate that connected them, has disappeared into their everyday life.

* * *

_"Well, I don't know... getting help from a girl?"_

_"A girl! What do you mean by that? You expect me to sit by and listen after hearing you say something like that?"_

_He looks a bit perplexed at her strong words._

_"Mom! I'm taking Cloud to Sector 7. I'll be back in a while."_

_Elmyra comes down the stairs._

_"Dear...ah...I give up. You never listen once you've made up your mind."_

_._

"Do you believe in soulmates, Tifa?"

They're sipping on strawberry milkshakes, fighting off the sun's heat while waiting outside Seventh Heaven for Cloud to come home with groceries for Tifa, ever the kind _friend_ he is, always willing to get her exotic fruits especially since he started driving that new motorcycle of his. Aerith has known for a while now that her halcyon days with her boyfriend are about to come to an end. She doesn't blame Tifa though. Not in the least.

It wasn't her fault that Cloud's heart had been tied to her from the start.

"I'm not really sure. Sometimes, I think I do. Life tells me otherwise."

"Well, I do."

"Hm?"

Aerith bites into the striped straw and swallows her hesitation. So, she is actually doing this today. She didn't plan on this. But, she had always been impulsive when it comes to the affairs of the heart, no dilly dallying. She confidently lets out the next sentence.

"I think each person on this Planet is meant to be with someone. Only _the one_. I believe our souls are connected to that special person the moment we are born."

"I guess that's true in a way."

Tifa's soft voice comes out in a wistful sigh.

"Not _in a way_, silly. I know for a _fact_. You only have one soulmate in this life."

"You're quite the romantic aren't you, Aerith?"

Her smiles always brought rays of happiness into her spirit. Tifa was her first female friend. That one person who understood her the most. Probably more than Cloud ever did, ever could...even if they were together.

Even if they had this undeniable connection the moment they met.

"I suppose I am. I think I've already met him, though."

She sees that her friend probably doesn't know who she's referring to. Or is assuming that they're talking about Cloud. Nevertheless, she continues on.

"However, if a human isn't with the person he's supposed to be with, the Lifestream sends out signs to the partner, letting the unfortunate girl know that she's not meant to be with him."

She regards Tifa with careful eyes, her friend stares knowingly back at her.

.

.

.

"Johnny isn't your soulmate."

Red boots shuffle with distress as Tifa straightens her back to turn to her with genuine concern on her face.

Aerith loves her for it.

"What's wrong?"

.

.

.

The Last Cetra tells her.

* * *

_He's sleeping next to her._

_He's in a relationship with her._

_He's living under the same roof as her._

_._

_._

_._

_Cloud's body is there._

_But his heart..._

_His heart is somewhere else._

.

"You're going to count to a hundred."

Her bags are already packed and he doesn't know it. Her room is ready back at her mom's house. Cloud is humoring her while she pauses in front of their door, holding the key to it and grinning at him.

"I don't think it's the right time to be playing a game, Aerith."

He must be tired from his trip to Junon, still, she wants to do it now, because if she doesn't, then, she just might be selfish for once and forget she ever thought about letting him go.

Because she, of all people, deserves to be happy, damn it.

"Please." she pronounces in a singsong voice.

Cloud never could resist her when she does this.

"Fine."

He closes his eyes. She leans in to plant a kiss on his lips. Cloud responds with such eagerness that it takes her a minute before she is able to pull away to breathe deeply.

"I want you to stop lying to yourself."

The world stands still when she finally says it.

And she could feel it.

Feel Cloud's soul crack before her.

And she's grateful for his love.

She's really grateful.

But, that love of his...it isn't what she wants it to be.

He could never love her the way she wants him to.

The way he loves her best friend.

Even if he's in denial.

"Aerith."

They don't belong together.

And he knows it as well.

Had known since that night she confronted him with his feelings for Tifa.

"You love her, not me."

She senses the panic in his form. When she almost takes a step further, Cloud opens his eyes and grabs her wrist. Aerith quickly puts a hand over his blue orbs. At least he still fights for her. Her hero, _still_ refuses to leave her side. He will always, _alway_s come for her.

"Don't do this." she tries to cheerfully say.

"I..."

"I want to keep the good memories, Cloud."

Her shoulders are shaking while she lets out what's inside her heart, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I love you. I'm so in love with you, that what I'm about to do is surely going to break my heart."

"Aerith..."

She can feel him giving in. That Nibelheim boy coming out, the Midgar man admitting that he has always had eyes for someone else, had probably sworn himself to Tifa Lockhart for years.

"But, it's because I love you that I'm doing this."

"Please..."

He pleads once more.

"Tell me you don't really love her. That you want to be with me."

His grip on her wrist tightens.

"I don't love Tifa. I love you."

She breathes out a defeated exhale.

.

.

.

"Cloud, did you know that you're a terrible liar?"

He doesn't deny her claim.

.

.

.

"So, close your eyes. Count to a hundred."

He releases his hold on her and shuts his eyes.

Then, he starts counting.

.

.

.

She leaves without looking back.

* * *

_Of course you can love more than one person in this lifetime._

_That doesn't make them your soulmate though._

_And she is sure that Cloud and Tifa are meant to be._

_That Gaia placed them in this world so that they can be together._

_Perhaps she had already found her happily ever after once, when that dark-haired man stumbled into her church long before Cloud ever did._

_Perhaps her love was too big that she couldn't possibly just give it to one person, she had to have two loves in her life._

_Perhaps she just isn't meant to be happy._

_._

Aerith's relationship with Cloud felt like a fairytale, an epic romance that was too overwhelming that it couldn't sustain them in reality. She'll always love him. But, it's high time she lets go of her enchanting story. Her once-upon-a-time had ended abruptly with a blunt "the end." Their adventures are over, and she has returned to where she started.

It takes six months before she fully moves on.

This time, she doesn't run from her heartache.

At first, she cries for hours on end and she ignores his very presence the same way she denied Zack's. One night, Elmyra knocks on her door with a hot cup of cocoa. She had expected to hear "I told you so."

Her mother doesn't say anything though, except for,

"When you're ready, we can talk about it."

And just like how Cloud poured out his story to her all those months ago, Aerith pours out hers. She presents herself in her most vulnerable form. Of how terrifying it was to leave Midgar, how fun it was to have friends and go on a quest to save the world, and how mentally exhausting it felt to be the Last Cetra, to have the fate of the world rest on her sheltered shoulders.

She talks about falling in love with Cloud.

Talks about falling in love with Tifa as well.

Falling in love with everyone around her that she doesn't want one single person to be in pain. Even if she was the one who suffered the most.

And then, she finally acknowledges Zack's existence.

Her mother holds Aerith until she falls asleep, streaks of her agony lining her cheeks until she feels suddenly light.

.

.

.

Three days later. Aerith returns her friends' calls.

And because she's found this renewed strength within her to embrace her future, the twenty-four year old goes back to selling the flowers blooming in her church. Until one lazy afternoon, as she was strolling along the busy markets of Edge, just east of Midgar, Aerith discovers a new role she has to play.

As the Last Cetra, her mission isn't over yet.

She focuses her energy on travelling around the world to heal the victims of a new disease called Geostigma, another curse left by Meteor to the dying Planet.

Sephiroth's will.

The flower girl asks Cloud to help her. It was awkward to see him again at first and he was still as handsome as always. Aerith bites into her lips while she watches him park Fenrir at Elmyra's house as he waits for her to come down so he can assist her around the Slums and anywhere she is needed.

Weeks pass and she finds a boy named Denzel wandering the streets near her church and brings him home with her. When she notices the way the survivor's eyes light up when Cloud comes to pick her up though, Aerith holds on to the idea of letting him stay with her ex-boyfriend someday. But, only when he fully recovers from his affliction.

They fall back into that bond of being good friends and Aerith, she goes back to being like his big sister. Teasing him every now and then, never missing his nervousness when they rest from their many travels at Tifa's bar and their beautiful friend comes out to greet them with two mugs of beer.

Cloud looks at Tifa in a way that he has never looked at Aerith before.

There is too much history there.

Too many missed chances.

Her carmine eyes appear consistently weary from being busy with her customers and taking care of Marlene, who Barret has left with her. Nevertheless, Tifa always meets them with a welcoming smile on her face, and she frets over both friends whenever they reveal that they've missed a meal or two.

Tifa, with her kind strength and her motherly charm cooks something up to feed their hungry stomachs daily and it doesn't take long before they make it an everyday thing to come to her after an eventful day of healing.

Johnny disappears from Tifa's side one day. She tells Aerith that he had gone back to Costa del Sol, and that he went home to that girl he said he was going to marry, but this time, with a ring in his pocket. Tifa herself had helped with nudging him in the right direction.

They had actually broken up just two months ago, and Aerith watches, with contained excitement, as Cloud and Tifa do that dance once more.

Right foot in.

Right foot out.

Their romantic potential lingers like a giant chocobo in the room. But, the distance closes little by little until forty-seven days later, Cloud finally kisses his first love underneath the glittering Christmas lights, a long scarf wrapped around both their necks which he had bashfully used to pull her closer, the effervescent taste of champagne teasing their lips, coming full circle to their reunion, nine years after he made his promise to her.

Aerith toasts to the new couple and finds herself in a battle to get a high score in karaoke with an inebriated Yuffie. The rest of the team enjoy the season's good tidings while they celebrate the long-awaited news of Cloud and Tifa being together at last.

The healer doesn't even give them the time to feel guilty about her being there, because she tells her comrades that she's happy and that maybe she just might quit selling flowers and become a matchmaker instead, a selfless teasing that manages to erase the sympathy from their faces.

.

.

.

She's wholeheartedly happy for them.

* * *

_Destiny was always getting in her way._

_Twenty-three wishes._

_Eighty-nine letters._

_Wordless confessions conveyed through her innocent eyes as he walked away,_

_Not knowing that it was their last time._

_"I'd like to spend more time with you."_

_If she could only rewrite the stars…_

_Rearrange them until fate changes its mind and leads him back to her._

_The stars have always belonged to Cloud and Tifa though..._

_Sometimes, she thinks about going against the inevitable, but wants the people she loves to be happy more._

_._

She puffs out her cheeks and glares menacingly at the hammer while she nurses her sore thumb.

Aerith has half a mind to kick the contraption but is too smart to not attempt it because she would only end up with a bruised toe. The nails roll on her church's wooden floor and she looks at them for a minute, remembering a fond memory of when Cloud had helped her fix the building by reconstructing the panels. She pushes her body up and takes the time to look at the pews behind her, a smile making its way to her lips.

She had once hoped that he would marry her under the chapel's dilapidated ceilings, the same spot where he had first met her. Or maybe she was meant to marry someone else at this very place.

_"You always were my favorite girl."_

The voice, though one she hasn't heard in a long time, is still something she recognizes.

"Funny how despite being your favorite, you didn't make your appearance until now."

The warmth of his body radiates from just behind her, she could feel black, spiky strands touching the pink bow he had given her. She had found it in one of her little boxes this morning.

_"You haven't thought about me in a while. I was sleeping. Then, I heard your voice calling me."_

She takes a step forward but he takes a step back, keeping their bodies in light contact.

"I once had the silly idea that maybe _you_ sent Cloud to me."

His lighthearted chuckle makes her heart ache, because all so suddenly, they're back where they were ten years ago. His confident smile stirring her innocent emotions, a suggestion she'd understood as a proposal from him when he said that he'd sell flowers with her.

_"Hm, maybe I did, or maybe I didn't. Still love him?"_

Aerith starts to shake her head then stops.

"Of course I do."

_"Not at all missing me?"_

She wraps a hand around her arm, her mood perking up.

"Nope."

_"Then why are you fixing the cart?"_

Her whole body stiffens, hairs standing on end, because this time, she actually sees him in front of her. Kneeling down to look at what she was just hammering nails into minutes ago.

"Zack."

_"God, my name always sounded good on your lips."_

She laughs, her hand over her mouth as she tries to stop the tears from falling.

They never got to say goodbye.

Yet here he was, a decade after she last saw him, on her saddest day. Because her friends had finally tied the knot and she had sent them off with her blessing, willing the Planet to let those two be happy. It had taken them three years, but Cloud finally found the courage to ask the girl next door to become his wife.

That unbearable tightening of her chest came undone when she broke the false string that connected her to Cloud Strife.

She feels happy.

Weightless even.

Like she can fly out of here if she could.

_"Hey Aerith? Are you still afraid of the sky?"_

He's grinning at her.

And she's crying.

_"I, for one, find it liberating."_

He vanishes then, before she could even form a reply. Her attention is directed towards the hole in the roof and Aerith gasps as the birds fly overhead.

She bows her head and laces her fingers in front of her heart, praying silently to the Planet.

"You'll wait for me, won't you?"

.

.

.

She still had the rest of her life to live.

* * *

_"Oh, it moved!"_

_"..."_

_"Hello, Hellooo?"_

_Azure eyes open and it takes her a moment to catch her breath._

_The brunette takes a step back to give him his space._

_She had secretly played a game with herself,_

_Once this stranger regains consciousness,_

_If he wasn't as handsome as she guessed he was, then she'll merely assist him back to where he came._

_._

_._

_._

_But if he was, she will ask him out on a date._

.

She tucks a strand of curled brown hair behind her ear and smiles gently up above.

The propellers of the plane's engine drown out the sound of seagulls and the ocean's waves as she waits for the pilot to make his landing.

Aerith swiftly makes her way to the main deck the moment she enters, brown boots clicking on the metal floors.

Cid Highwind puffs out a string of smoke while he leans back to regard her with a grin.

"How are ya, Miss Aerith?"

She confiscates the cigarette off his mouth and sticks her tongue out when he stares dumbfounded.

"Smoking is bad for your lungs."

The older man scratches the back of his head and pushes himself off his relaxed stance to walk towards the ship's steering wheel.

"Shoud've figured you'd do that there when y'all done asked to join me."

The Last Cetra hums a soft tune while she runs her fingers over the controls, a sudden thought coming to her highbrow mind.

"Say, could you teach me how to drive this thing one of these days?"

"Already have the manual out faw ya, 'lil missy. I ain't gonna be a darn good teacher tho. I dunno some of the language there."

Aerith flips through the massive book and recognizes the Ancient writing.

"And she has a name, ya know. Shera."

"Ahw, I didn't know you were the sentimental type, Cid."

She giggles while she turns to take in her brand new world.

"So, where to?"

Aerith pads her feet across the room and points her finger towards the horizon.

"Just beyond the clouds."

Cid grumbles at the ambiguity of her response and revs the aircraft on.

"To the ends of the earth it is."

Her emerald eyes bright up once they take to the vast expanse of endless blue. She had once been afraid of that color.

Had once been too afraid to bask in it.

But now,

.

.

.

She breathes in the sky's fierce winds again.

.

.

.

She absolutely loves it.

_._

_"Legend shall speak,_

_Of sacrifice at world's end,_

_The wind sails over the water's surface,_

_Quietly, but surely."_

_._

_fin_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I wanna give a shout out and thank you to my amazing friend and beta for this fic, **SailorStarDust1** (Definitely one of the top writers in the Cloti fandom). As the resident best handler of the AerithxCloudxTifa love triangle in fanfiction, I couldn't possibly post this fic without your approval. It is such an honor to have you read and add suggestions to my work before I posted it. Another special shout out to **Meeerf**, because I was chatting with you about the topic of Aerith living, I thought of this fic and couldn't quite let it go until I typed it up. Thank you for inspiring me.

I always felt sad that Aerith never got to ride on the Highwind. Leaving how they defeat Sephiroth with Aerith still living up to the readers' imagination. ;) Coz you know, angst and smut and all.

I gotta be honest, I'm not quite sure about how I suddenly ended up writing this. I never thought I'd write a Clerith fic at all because obviously, I'm more CloTi but I do acknowledge how special Aerith is to Cloud and the team. I will always think that CloudxTifa is endgame, even if Aerith lives, based solely on my own interpretation when I played the game and the material that came out after.

I still think that Aerith and Cloud had potential but was cut short. Had she lived however, I guess I can't quite settle on how it might play out. Though I don't think her death was the thing that can get Cloud and Tifa together, because their past connections and Cloud's persona centered around Tifa Lockhart, and I think whether or not Cloud will indeed enter into a relationship with Aerith, I can't quite see it working out because Tifa exists. Just my two cents on the whole thing. And maybe my bias.

Quotes and Clerith moments from the Original Game as well as Crisis Core littered throughout, because I ship Zerith... sooo hard. Aerith's reaction to Cloud mourning Zack is inspired by the lyrics of "Just be Friends." by Megurine Luka. The parting scene is inspired by a filipino film titled "One More Chance." Shout out to my fellow pinoys out there!


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